A viral photo of anthem-snubbing hammer thrower Gwen Berry draped in an American flag has been scrubbed from its sourced site after the image went viral online.
Conservative author and host Tim Young on Wednesday posted an image of Berry draped in the American flag, which he snapped from a WordPress site called “Gwen Throws.” The photo appears to have been posted to the site in 2015.
“Gwen Berry’s PR team forgot to update her website…” Young snarked, captioning the photo.
Gwen Berry's PR team forgot to update her website…https://t.co/qcGJc5qxMd pic.twitter.com/3xcbHBK7Ni
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) June 30, 2021
The tweet quickly went viral, sparking online reactions from conservative politicos, including eldest Trump son Donald Trump Jr., who suggested Berry’s recent anti-American activism is an act for “attention.”
“Totally not all an act!” Trump Jr. posted. “She was definitely not protesting to get attention for herself and/or maybe some of those woke Nike sponsorship dollars. 100% legit and not at all a cottage industry victimization scheme we see so much of these days.”
Totally not all an act! She was definitely not protesting to get attention for herself and/or maybe some of those woke Nike sponsorship dollars. 100% legit and not at all a cottage industry victimization scheme we see so much of these days. https://t.co/OSjnPDCKTe
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 30, 2021
By the next morning, the website that hosted the image was deleted.
“Gwenthrows.word.press.com is no longer available,” the site not reads. “The authors deleted this site.”
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Berry qualified to represent the United States at the Olympics on Saturday, placing third in the hammer throw trials. While on stage receiving her medal, Berry turned her back to the flag and held up a T-shirt that read “Activist Athlete” when the anthem started playing,
The shun quickly made Berry a household name.
Notably, Berry is sponsored by athletic brand Puma, a relationship she secured through a pro-“Defund the Police” group called Color of Change, which has sponsored Berry since last September, The Daily Wire highlighted Wednesday:
“We’re proud to sponsor [Berry], to have negotiated a sponsorship with [Puma] and to continue to push corporations to support Black athletes who speak out for our communities. Grateful for Gwen’s leadership today and every day,” Color of Change posted to Twitter. “Thank you Color of Change for always standing with me,” Berry responded.
Related: Anthem-Snubbing Gwen Berry Sponsored By Puma, Defund The Police Advocates
Fox News noted that Color of Change “is unapologetically in favor of defunding the police”:
“Policing is a violent institution that must end. We imagine a country where there is enough money to educate our children, care for our sick and feed those who are financially unstable. Defunding the police allows for this vision,” Color of Change President Rashad Robinson said in June after the Minneapolis City Council pledged to “dismantle” its police force.
The left-wing group also has active petitions in favor of defunding the police at both the local and national levels.
Days before her showing at the trials, Berry told The Washington Post that representing America has been an issue for her, since the country allegedly works to disenfranchise black Americans.
“For me, it’s always been something that’s been underlyingly uncomfortable, knowing that I’m rocking this big ‘USA’ across my chest when everything about America is to demean and to keep Black people at the bottom of the totem pole,” she said. “It has always, always, always been something I have been very uncomfortable with. I’m glad I’m able to say that without being punished or without being misunderstood.
“I try to compartmentalize it. I try to say, ‘The USA can mean a lot of things.’ I try to give it my own meaning, just to say that I do deserve to represent a country that my people have built uncompensated, have worked for and have survived throughout,” Berry continued. “I just have to give myself a different meaning of it, regardless of how uncomfortable I am with what it is sometimes.”
Related: GOP Lawmakers, Veterans Call For Gwen Berry To Lose Olympic Spot Over Anthem Protest